"Oh, really? He served in the UF military?" Rex replied to Arel. "How about you? Are you a soldier, too?" He shakes her hand and nods. "Yeah, you too. It's nice to see some new faces around here. There's not many people our age on base. How long are you here for?" He glances at Zhi again and waves at her. "Did I say something weird? You're kind of spacing out over there. It's a good idea not to do that when you're walking around or else you're liable to take a dive."

***

"You! Creepy girl! The little one! They want you over in the medical rooms again! They say they found someone dying of old age and want to just completely fix that! You can do that, right?"

Rena jumped in surprise when the man started shouting at her and she covered her head with her arms instinctively, as if afraid he was going to hit her from across the room. "Y-Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!" she mumbles, hurrying out the door with her head bowed, afraid of making eye contact for fear of him yelling at her again.

"Rena, wait! Come back!" Aiko tried to see where the young girl had gone, but Jun blocked her way out. "Hey, quit it!" she yelped. No amount of effort, however, was going to get him to move. She could see that now.

Defeated, Aiko leaned against the doorframe and sighed in frustration.

"Why did you yell at her? You scared her away---we were just about to have dinner! And Rena isn't creepy! She's a nice little girl and she's been very kind to me! I don't know what you saw, but it can't be anything worth attacking a child over! Call me names if you want! Just leave her alone!"

His knife was in its sheath. Turk still couldn't believe it. After Oraph disarmed me, they threw me in that cell. I didn't have my knife during any of that. I don't like this. It didn't add up. Turk had killed a man, and then was let go, and now, re-armed. He didn't know what was going on anymore. So far, he had only a few clues to work with: Oraph let him go for stabbing a man in the chest, and he had a knife. If they suspected me of being their enemy, allowing me to walk freely with a knife isn't the best choice. I don't think they're that stupid.

Turk realized that, whatever Oraph was planning, they wanted to have Turk in it. Speaking to himself, Turk assessed the current roster: "They've signed on a nobody with a knife, a baker, a rude and annoying kid, and some others. This is big. I think Oraph has never recruited outside agents." Turk left off in search of more information, and failing at it, he finally found someone and asked them: "I need to look into a few things. Where can I find the archives?"

"Shit if I know." The young woman with smooth skin said with roll of her eyeballs. Her long hair swayed to the side as she sharply turned her head to answer him. Her bright green eyes were narrowed with a slightly annoyed look to them.

On her smooth features, she wore a dismayed frown; as if what Turk had done was a great offense to her. However, after studying the man before her, her expression smoothed out some to an almost amused smirk. Her pouty lips parted once again to speak with a little smile tugging at her lips, "Hello, there..." She turned her body so that she was directly facing him, shifting her weight to her right foot and resting her right hand on her hip. "... you must be Turk. The guy who went bonkers and stabbed that guy to death."

She shifted her weight back on both of feet and crossed her arms. "Nice job. That guy was annoying enough."

'Shit if I know,'? Either the archives have special security clearance, or this person is a grunt. Either way, I'm not getting the information I need. "That doesn't concern me. I am looking for the archives- It is of vital importance." Turk looked away from the person in front of him, searching for others or other means of locating the archives. "If you cannot tell me where the archives are located, I will have to locate someone else." Turk walked off, his hand gripping his knife. She's not normal Oraph. They're a lot more serious about their work.

"Oh, yeah, and they told me to remind you that people are good at things!"

Jun stepped into the room as soon as Rena left it, ignoring Aiko for the moment it took him to shout a comment to the other girl. He didn't even notice Aiko's scolding at first.

"--but it can't be anything worth attacking a child over! Call me names if you want! Just leave her alone!""

Once he did, he didn't particularly care what she had to say. The very sound of her voice was making him uncomfortable right now. Every word made him fear that she was going to snap at the next.

When he finally made eye contact with her, the boiling anger in him passed the point of sensibility.

Jun acted entirely on instinct in the seconds that followed. He slammed the door shut behind him, and approached Aiko directly, intentionally pushing her closer to the wall. As he moved forward, he pulled the handgun from his pocket, and pointed it straight at Aiko's head. He scowled.

"Does this look familiar?"

Seconds after Jun had finished his sentence, a voice spoke out to them; it seemed like it came from a type of speaker, although none could be seen. "Forgive me if I interrupted something between you two, but Oraph would've fired me if I let all of you killed each other."

A few seconds of confused silence had passed before the voice spoke again. "I can see you, y'know. You. Guy. Jan? Jin? Whatever. Be a good boy and put the goddamn gun down."

"Does this look familiar?"

Jun had just slammed the door and backed her into the far wall. And now he was pointing the gun, which she thought she'd somehow miraculously lost, at her head. She was about to answer with a question of her own, but a faint, echoey voice spoke in her mind first---or so it seemed, for there was no one else in the room. Whoever owned the cool and cavalier voice thought he was going to shoot her, and Aiko couldn't have that. Not when she knew the truth.

"I don't know who you are, but he can't hurt me with that---at least not by pulling the trigger. I got rid of the bullets on purpose. I never want to hurt anyone again!" Then, frowning petulantly, she added, "And his name's Jun! Not Jan! Not Jin! Jun!"

Someone was listening in on them over the speakers. Aiko confessed to owning the gun. The stranger berated him for threatening Aiko. Aiko defended him.

The gun dropped from Jun's hand. A moment passed in silence, and his mind went blank.

Just what was he doing?

"Sorry. Look..." He cracked, looking away from the probably innocent girl he was harassing so much. "Just... sorry."

It was a long few days. The stress was getting to him. He didn't have any idea what was going on, or how to deal with anything, so he was latching onto the one thing he thought he could control. As long as he just blamed Aiko for everything, he could keep things in check.

How stupid. She never even did anything. Yeah, she was acting a bit crazy, but who was it that just pointed a gun at someone's head right now?

Him. Jun. Not Jin, or Jan, or any of those other names the voice gave him right now. Just Jun.

"This is only the beginning, isn't it? Things have just started, and the two of us are already going mad, aren't we?"

"I guess it is," she said softly, "and I guess we are."

You don't have to apologize to me, she thought. You owe me nothing, and I owe you--and the others---my life.

Aiko picked up the gun and tossed it in the trash, taking care to hide it from view under the chicken bones and other refuse from her cooking. Then she washed her hands with soap and water, dried them, and turned back to Jun.

"Are you hungry? I made chicken soup . . . I mean, if you don't want any, that's okay! It's probably terrible and I shouldn't make guests eat terrible food, but I have no cake left . . ."

And now Aiko was acting like nothing had just happened. She was cheerfully greeting him into her room, and offering dinner. He almost wish he could accept it.

"... No, it's fine. I should probably get back to my room." He muttered, leaning up against the wall, once Aiko stepped away from it. He had a headache. "Thank you, though."

For several minutes, he stayed there, not moving, and failing to act on his claim.

As much as he realized that he made a mistake, the gun was still bothering him. She claimed she didn't mean any harm with it, and he was starting to believe her, but there was still the fact that she was carrying it at all.

"I never want to hurt anyone again." She said. As if she hurt someone before. Before she lost her temper on the scientist, earlier.

"Before, I leave, though. Can you give me a quick answer?" He finally spoke up again, retreating from the wall, and making his way to the door. "Who did you hurt? Who did you fire that gun at, and why?"

---------------------------------------

Zhi returned to reality, and shook her head.

"I'm sorry. I'm fine. I'm probably just tired after everything that's happened. The two of us should probably get to bed." She apologized, trying to push her racing thoughts away in favor of not coming off as too out of it. It was starting to bother her, now. "We'll see you again, I'm sure. It seems that we'll be here for a while."

The gondola came to a stop at the island where the barracks were held and Rex hopped off.

"I'm sorry. I'm fine. I'm probably just tired after everything that's happened. The two of us should probably get to bed."

That caused him to stumble and almost fall as he climbed out of the gondola. He shot a look back at Zhi with a face mired with confusion. "...Oh, you mean you two, as in you're roommates, hahaha..." he laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "I've got to get some things ready for tomorrow morning anyways. I guess I'll see you there." Night hadn't yet fallen on Erza, but the sun was starting to set. The Morgan travelers had had a long day; it had been late afternoon when they left Eutocius but because of the differences in local time, it was early morning upon their arrival in Erza, making for one exceptionally long day.

Sunset on Erza, which was a world of sky, was dazzling. The sun was setting on the horizon, staining the colossal silver clouds a radiant gold and red that stretched out for as far as the eye could see. It was as if the entire world changed colors with the setting of the sun. The sky lit up with an ocean of colors reminiscent of a forest's transition into autumn.

Rex waved off the two girls and went to find Rena.

***

Morning on Erza was just as dazzling, but one was hard-pressed to acknowledge the pastel painting that was the morning sky given the circumstances. Everyone on base was awoken early and gathered in the courtyard for the event.

"We are gathered here today to pay tribute to the memory of Rem Visconti and to celebrate her passing into the arms of the Lord. Although her time in this world was very short, she nonetheless touched the lives of each of us deeply."

The chaplain began his sermon. At the center of the courtyard, the casket containing the still body of Rem was displayed, with an arrangement of yellow flowers surrounding it. Displayed on tables around the courtyard were photographs of her throughout her life, many of which featured her with her siblings and a select few of which, clearly taken when she was still an infant, featured the three children with a white-haired woman in an Oraph uniform.

Standing at the front of the crowd of Oraph personnel were the only two family members: Rex and Rena. Rena's face was buried in her older brother's stomach, sobbing uncontrollably while her brother slowly stroked her hair, his expression sympathetic and clearly troubled. In spite of his grief, he managed to wear a calm face in order to help soothe his sister's pain.

Time passed as the chaplain delivered his sermon.

"...She was always a joy to have around, even before she started her work here. She always loved to make friends and help out wherever she could. She will...certainly be missed. But though we mourn this great loss, we must take heed and know that death is a reminder. It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart. As your thoughts go out to her family and you reflect on your memories of her, learn from her example. Though she was young, Rem lived every day to the fullest and she went to great lengths to brighten the days of those around her. Just as Death has so abruptly taken her, Death will one day come to take each of us - and for that, we must be prepared. How then, you ask, can we prepare for something when we can't possibly know when it will come about? Make haste and prepare at once. Live each day as if you might be taken into the Lord's kingdom the next, and never forget how precious each moment is."

The chaplain stepped down and put a hand on Rex's shoulder, nodding to him. The two children were the first to approach the casket. Rena stood rooted in place.

"I don't wanna..."

"C'mon, Rena," Rex said gently. "This is the last time we're ever going to see her."

"Please don't make me," Rena pleaded, her voice cracking with the threat of further tears.

"It's okay," he assured. "I'll be right here with you." With some coaxing, Rena reluctantly followed him up to the casket. As soon as she was face to face with the still body of her sister, Rena wailed in anguish and fell to the floor. Rex knelt down beside her and supported her, directing her head onto his shoulder and lightly rubbing her back. Major Jorich covered her face with a handkerchief and turned away, the sight rending her heart.

At length, Rena managed to stand again. Rex held her up and looked solemnly down at Rem's face. His lower lip trembled but his resolve not to show weakness in front of Rena stood strong. It took several shaking breaths to keep himself from breaking down with her.

Rena plucked one of the yellow flowers from beside the casket and tenderly placed it on her body. When the two finished, they stepped down. Rex tightly held his sister's hand, who seemed to have run out of tears to shed. The second person to approach the casket was Major Jorich, who would proceed to spend almost as much time as the siblings there. Eventually, the chaplain had to come and escort the weeping major away.

...

The solemn ceremony took most of the day. Late in the afternoon, the casket was closed and after a prayer was said, fire was set to it. Rena managed to stay quiet as she watched the body of her sister go up in flames, the smoke and ashes traveling up to become a part of Erza's cloud-sea. The two children stood apart from the rest of the congregation and stood nearest the casket. The distance between them and everyone else stood to emphasize their unique status in the organization.

Rex reached forward and took one of the yellow flowers from near the casket. As Rena observed the conflagration with teary eyes, he tenderly folded the flower into her hair.

***

"We need confirmation. If the crisis on Morgan is a repeat of 15 years ago, then measures need to be taken to isolate the problem before it spreads."

"If it's a repeat of 15 years ago, then we have worse problems to worry about. It should've been impossible to spread."

"It's too early to say for sure. We can't rule out that it really is some new disease."

"The representatives aren't quite so optimistic, commander. They'd rather err on the side of caution and eliminate the problem altogether rather than risk this spreading. If you can't find a solution, they will."

"You can't mean...The Node?"

"It's being considered. If you're so sure about this, then bring results. Either prove that it's unrelated to Persephone or find a way to get rid of Andrew permanently."

***

The commander is in a tough position. The samples are taking far too long to process. If his worst fears are confirmed, then Oraph's best weapon to bringing this conflict to a swift resolution is still as good as useless. When all sane avenues of attack have been exhausted, all that remains is to try the insane.

***

After dinner, the Morgan group as well as Turk and Raina are informed that they're to report to conference room 6 for a briefing in two hours. They're each brought some changes of clothes as well as an Oraph uniform.

They're also advised to visit the shooting range and to be prepared to demonstrate their marksmanship in an upcoming mission.

"Before I woke up on the Venerate," Aiko said, "I remember trying to see if my parents were okay---you know, because of the riots at home---and I met this man. He wore goggles, and he said he was going to stop . . . to stop . . . an Oraph ship. I really didn't want to get involved, but he said the ship would destroy the whole city if I didn't. So he gave me two pistols and told me how to shoot, told me to distract the security officers. I didn't want to hurt anybody, but when I pulled the trigger I hit a man in the belly. I don't know if the wound was fatal, but . . ."

She trailed off, took a deep breath, and began again.

"Mr. Goggles saw how upset I was, so he didn't ask me to do anything else. But he---he froze everything, stopped time somehow," she recalled, "and went on to destroy the ship. I saw it crash . . . and . . . sorry. I know you wanted a quick answer," she said.

Then it hit her: a small, forgettable detail rushed to the fore of her memory and furiously etched itself into her brain. Her eyes widened, and she started to shake. "That ship . . . it was . . . the Seraph."

Aiko dropped to her knees, shut her eyes and crossed her arms, trying to stop the tremors that wracked her body. "I killed her," she wailed. "I killed the little girl! I killed Rem!"

Jun watched her in silence for several minutes before speaking again, albeit with difficulty:

"Don't cry. You may have helped Goggleface or whatever his name is, but you didn't know the kid was on that ship. Don't beat yourself up over things that are out of your control. The Oraph put her on that ship, so as far as I see it, they're responsible. Not you. So stop that crying. Save your tears for her funeral tomorrow."

"J-Jun . . ."

But when Aiko looked towards the door, he was already gone.

(Sorry, Izzy! I had to do something to end this part since more stuff is happening now. I hope that's okay. )

Being unable to locate any important info within the facility, Turk ended up sleeping in one of halls, too tired to find his way back to his room. Pillows, beds, and even rooms were luxuries that Turk didn't require for rest, having grown up as a slum dweller, living in the remnants of a once prosperous city.

He was awakened by an Oraph employee some time later, and was informed to head to conference room 6. Unlike anything else he wanted to search for, Oraph employees were more helpful in locating the room. After picking up his change of clothes and the Oraph uniform, he quickly grabbed his knife and began removing part of the sleeve, to accommodate for the device mounted on his arm. Turk signed at the mention that firearms might be involved in an upcoming mission. Guns are loud, noisy, and not discreet at all. Use one, and you've got a mess on your hands, and everyone knows where you are. He wasn't against using guns, but he preferred not to use them if necessary. Back in the slums, gunshots were an easy indicator of location, and acted as a siren's song, luring in unsavory characters.

Once they were dismissed Arel immediately went back to her quarters to put on the new uniform. As she finished changing, Arel looked back at her blue jacket which was now hanging on a coatrack next to the bed. The pilot took a moment to stare at the jacket fondly. There were many adventures that she went through wearing it. But there would be more to come.

"Mmm...the shooting range....I guess I can skip it for now. Since we're full-fledged members of Oraph now I kinda want to go explore the hangar. They're bound to have all sorts of awesome ships there right?" Arel mused to herself as she donned a new coat that went with the uniform. It was nice to have new clothes but the pilot's navigator goggles and dogtags would still be ever present of course. Tying the laces on her boots, Arel stood up and stretched before heading out the door.

Arel asked several people that she met in the halls as to the direction of the hangars, and eventually she reached her destination....

"Oh wow!" Arel was in awe, the roaring of engines and the smell of various mechanical oils sent a chill down her spine. Gleaming ships stood in rows in the large and spacious hangar. Crews of mechanics were bustling around the venue, performing maintainance or loading items onto different ships. Some pilots were gathered in small groups chatting away with crew members about flight plans and other things.

The giddy recruit went close to one of the parked spacecraft, admiring it as she watched a mechanic who was perched atop one fin get some readouts. A box of tools was not too far from where she stood, she peered at the contents.

"Figures that they would use top-notch equipment...Dad would loved this.." Her eyes followed as a ship took off from the hangar.

Man I would give up my left arm to be able to pilot one of those things....top notch navigation systems, fast response times, and not to mention the weapons systems are sure to be amazing.

((OCC: Kyubey appears nonchalantly next to Arel's leg. "So I hear that you want to pilot one of the Oraph ships...If you make a contract with me and become a magical pilot girl, I can grant your wish!" ◕ ‿‿ ◕))

The engineer who was tending to the ship noticed Arel gawking at it and secured his harness before descending to bring him closer. "Are you the captain? I don't think I've seen you around before."

The sound of boots walking across the grated floor is audible, approaching the two and the vessel in question. "That would be me." The speaker was a tall woman who wore a gunmetal-colored longcoat over her Oraph uniform. Her most distinguishing feature, however, was her bright red hair and ponytail that reached down to her lower back. The engineer laughed.

"Really now. Like they'd really hand a ship over to you after that stunt you pulled at Autolycus. Aren't you supposed to be on medical leave, lieutenant?"

"That's captain now. I guess someone up there saw it fit to reward my "stunt" with a promotion and a ship. This is the Lucent, isn't it?"

"The very same. Are you commanding it on the upcoming expedition?"

"Yep. I'll be off to the briefing in a moment. I came to confirm that my special package arrived."

"Not yet. It's still being configured over at R&D. Since the Nexus Surrogate over there has been shut off, they won't be able to give you timely support, so they're making sure all the bugs are worked out."

"Ahhhh, what a pain," the captain replies with a sigh. "I was hoping to give it a test drive before leaving, but I guess it'll have to wait. At any rate, I'll be back after the briefing. Make sure it's in top condition, or it's your head~" The red-haired captain saluted the engineer and hurried off.

***

A page is sent out calling for the Morgan group, Turk, Raina, and one Catalina Fenbrook to report to conference room 6 for a briefing. Waiting in the conference room is Major Jorich's secretary. The last person to arrive is the redhead Arel encountered in the hangar.

"Here's the situation we're looking at," the secretary begins. "The UF is pressuring us to come up with a diagnosis of the problem on Morgan. Our best leads so far suggest that the outbreak is related to the outbreak that occurred on Persephone 15 years ago. Back then, an outbreak of a never-before-seen disease occurred on Persephone. Because of the strange nature of the infection, we were never able to gather detailed information about it during the crisis; it seems that the infected cells are purged from the body very shortly after death, making studying it very difficult."

"Many of you have already been exposed to the infection. Strangely, no signs of it have shown up in any of you. For that reason, we have reason to believe that you have some form of immunity to it. Because of that immunity, you make ideal candidates to investigate the disease first-hand."

The redhead's eyes widen.

"You can't be talking about..."

"You're to go to Persephone and gather intel and samples," the secretary explains. "Previously, we've been incapable of doing so as a result of the high infection rate. However, because of your immunity, you should have no problems. Persephone's Nexus Node will be reactivated temporarily to allow you to approach and you'll land on the planet to survey the situation and report back your findings. The commanding officer for this operation will be Captain Fenbrook." The secretary indicates the red-haired stranger in the room. "Are there any questions?"

Strange thoughts associated with magic and white bunny-esque creatures harvesting humans populated Turk's mind before he turned himself back to the current situation. "I'm assuming that going to Persephone isn't optional. I'd suggest leaving one of us behind, as it would be advisable to isolate the immunity within our bodies, and provide that to others." I'm not sure where I picked this up. It's probably not genetic, since I'm a natural. Wait. Perhaps that device back on... I need to look into this.

"More importantly, what equipment are we being given? Even if we assume that we're immune, it's suicide to send us in without environmental protection suits. And once we're planetside, how long do we remain, and how do we maintain our supply levels?" Turk realized that much had been unaddressed. For the whole group to be going over, there was likely to be work that involved being outside in the middle of whatever happened. Looking at his display, Turk added a request: "If possible, I'd request that we deploy in a Terra Group Surveyor. These things are over 2000 years old by now, so it might be difficult, but my information and my observations of remnants tells me that they're airtight vehicles that are meant to be operated in an atmosphere-free environment, as was common of many planets that humanity discovered and tried to terraform prior to the Nexus Gates. Additionally, the TGS was equipped with decontamination systems upon entry." If all went well, Turk wouldn't have to leave the thing. 2000 year old equipment was something that he specialized with.

Lars, after having a hard time getting his mechanical arm to fit inside the uniform, headed over to the shooting range. He was handed over a gun and proceeded to watch for a while as several targets started making their ways around the range. He let out a short sigh. "Sometimes...It kinda pays off to have lost this arm..." As he said that, his pinky mechanical finger started emitting a small red pinpoint light and he used that as a base to fire the gun with his mechanical arm, all of the shots steady and precise. "Boom, headshot..." He'd mutter to himself as he kept practicing.

(Short post, sorry :<)

The past two days had been difficult for Aiko. After telling Jun what had happened prior to their meeting on the Venerate, she had remembered her involvement in the circumstances leading to Rem's death and, subsequently, attended the girl's funeral with a great pain in her heart. Now she was in yet another meeting. As much as she hated it here (the only upside was Rena, who had eaten her chicken soup two nights ago with nary a grimace), the baker didn't want to cause another scene.

"Is this---is this voluntary?" she asked meekly. "I don't want to go. I'd only get in the way. I'm just a patissiere-in-training. I'm not cut out for this."

(OOC: I totally missed the last part of that post, sorry.)

Lars would chuckle. "Me? Immune to a disease? Well, that's news, usually i can barely keep myself two weeks without getting a cold." He'd then pat on Aiko's head playfully. "Trying to run away again? The more the merrier Aiko, besides you can always hit any threats with a rolling pin or something." He'd chuckle. "What are you expecting to find? And also...What should we be expecting NOT to find?"

Arel noticed the red-haired captain from earlier present in the room. OH MY GOSH. Does that mean that we're taking the Lucent or another beautiful ship that Oraph has? Now's not the time to be spazzing though...Turk does bring up good points.

"Turk does bring up some good points, but also...is there any chance that we may run into enemies during this particular mission? I know that you advised us all to visit the shooting range at some point, but I'm pretty sure that maybe not all of us have had experience. Frankly, I'm worried that these individuals may be in trouble if we do get into a gunfight."

"You're exactly correct," the secretary responds. "This mission is not optional. It was for this purpose that you were brought here. One with the immunity is being kept behind in order to ensure that we don't lose all of our samples," she explains. "You'll of course be provided with environmental protection suits and enough supplies for the week's expedition. As for a land-craft, one of our own will be provided on the Lucent. Furthermore, you'll be equipped with a proper arsenal of firearms in case you meet resistance."

"There are no 'enemies' to be afraid of, only what Persephone natives remain. We've not heard anything about the planet's status in fifteen years, so it's impossible to say what you'll find there. Any survivors are likely desperate to escape and will almost certainly come for your ship. For that reason, I advise you keep your best fighters close at hand to protect the ship. Be aware that since the Nexus Surrogate on Persephone has been destroyed that there will be no way to effectively communicate with us here on Erza. The communication delay is approximately 11 and a half years, so don't wait around for a reply."

"What we're expecting you to find is how Persephone society has changed to cope with the disease. Have they found a cure? Have they found a vaccine? Or did it eventually swallow up the entire population? What you find on Persephone is likely to be the end result of the crisis on Morgan if we don't find answers quickly."

"One of your own landcraft? What's the reliability on that? Since the popularization of Nexus travel, we've been able to avoid terraforming planets by locating habitable alternatives and settle there. Something built for usage in a hostile environment may have conditions that are hazardous to humans, even *with* environmental protection, is what we should be using." Turk responded in complete annoyance and disgust. "If you insist on using on newer equipment, give me access to the machine and some spare parts so I can make modifications to it. The difference between the TGS and any of your equipment is that the TGS has been in use for hundreds of years, and can handle anything that the locals throw at us- If they're still there." Turk had seen computer equipment consistently fail, and planned on replacing anything that Oraph issued in this mission with systems that depended on humans instead of computers.

Examining his knife, Turk continued to issue requests to the secretary. "Make sure some of those weapons are melee. If any of the locals do get into the landcraft, or close to the spacecraft, we can't afford to use firearms, due to the risk of damaging equipment." The protocol that Oraph was going to set out for this mission seemed ridiculous. In modern society, the threats came from within, from other humans or human organizations, which was a clear change from ancient times, where the environment opposed mankind. Turk wasn't sure that any of Oraph's equipment would hold up at all- If they had been using reliable equipment, like the Surveyor, it would've been possible to collect some level of information from within the Surveyor, as well as through the use of remote controlled drones. Technology has sure become luxurious and 'safe'.

After Turk left, Nate found himself able to sleep at last. He slept comfortably through the night, at least until his mind forced him to dream about the events that were happening over the past few days. Nate woke up in a cold sweat, and everything began to come back to him. The doubting. The insecurities. The fear.

I said I would fix it, but how can I do it?

He looked over to Lars' bed, only for the most obvious answer to come to him.

The only way I can do this... Is if I work with them. All of them. But what will they think of me once they know I'm responsible for what happened?

Nate involuntarily clenched his hands into fists. It was everything he didn't bother to think about the previous day, and it was all snowballing him into a position where he just wanted to crawl up and wish it all away. Sadly, he knew that his problem wouldn't be that simple. There wouldn't be anything like a magical creature popping up out of nowhere to grant his wish to fix everything.

I've got to gain their trust. Then, once we can work together, I'll tell them. Whether or not they let me stay... I'll just have to wait and see.

A message popped up on the computer screen, indicating that everyone needed to report to the conference room immediately. Desperate to get his mind off of current affairs, he was more than happy to do something that could possibly distract him. As soon as it started though, he knew his mind wouldn't stray from the downward spiral he was slowly digging himself into.

Regardless of all the questions about the meeting, there was only one that was on Nate's mind. After Turk's second interruption, Nate moved in before the secretary could respond.

"Now, wait. There's something even more important I think we should all discuss," Nate started, "You keep saying that the disease is 'related' to the Persephone incident, and that we 'should' have no problems. But what if they're not related? What if the viruses are different and we're not immune to the virus on Persephone? What then?"

"The answer is pretty simple Nate. I'm not making those assumptions at all. In fact, I'm assuming that we're not immune at all when I asked for the Surveyor. As long as we remain completely cut off from the atmosphere on Persephone, and go through proper decontamination, we'll be alright." Turk addressed Nate's concern. "Our problem is that our employers don't understand that. They want to cut corners, and use their own equipment that they have on stock. If we don't make it back, it doesn't concern them."

Aiko was already feeling unsettled by the content of the briefing, but her nerves were jarred further when Lars patted her head in an attempt to comfort her.

"I don't want to die! There are so many things I have to do---so many cakes to make! I have to finish school and open a bakery and . . . and . . . I'm not a little kid! So don't pat my head or flick my forehead or any of that stuff!"

Then all the Oraph personnel looked at her as if to say, "Not this again! Someone shut her up already!"

"I mean, um . . . I'm only really good at a few things, and I'm a klutz. I don't know what I could possibly do to help here," she muttered. "I don't know what you want with any of us, to be honest, but I'm definitely not Oraph material."

Like her companions, Aiko had been issued an Oraph uniform, but she refused to wear it---she was not part of the Oraph and never would be. She was with them because she couldn't go home, and that was all. But they'd been promising a return, if she would go. The girl bowed her head in defeat.

"I have no choice, I guess . . . just, please . . . I want to go home."

"Oraph crafts are the most reliable in the universe, precisely because they are Oraph crafts," the secretary replies to Turk's onslaught of questions and criticism. She tugs nervously on her knuckles as she speaks, starting to stumble on her words. It's clear that the woman isn't normally put into such a demanding position and was exerting her best effort to fill in for the absent major. "Regarding your requests, I'm afraid I don't have the authority to make those decisions. It is to my understanding that weapons suitable for both ranged and melee combat have been supplied, as is s-standard operating p-procedure.

"Now, wait. There's something even more important I think we should all discuss," Nate spoke up, "You keep saying that the disease is 'related' to the Persephone incident, and that we 'should' have no problems. But what if they're not related? What if the viruses are different and we're not immune to the virus on Persephone? What then?"

The secretary shifted awkward in her seat in response to Nate's inquiry and a palpably tense silence. "I-I'm afraid," she began, "that I d-don't have the answer. I c-can, um...the commander if you..."

"What she's trying to say," Catalina interrupted, "is that she's not the person we should be socking for sending us on a suicide mission. That sound about right?"

"...It's as you say," the nervous secretary confirmed.

"Neither is she the person that should be telling us about the reliability of the equipment we're being given. 'Oraph crafts are the most reliable in the universe, precisely because they are Oraph crafts.' sounds like corporate propaganda to me." Turk chimed in. In response to Catalina, he added, "Whether we're on a suicide mission or not depends on Oraph. They give us proper equipment, we'll make it back. They give us corporate new tech bullshit? We're dead." Realizing that nothing he requested now would make a difference, Turk decided to make one final request, after flipping through his notebook. "Make sure you give me a good casket as part of the part favors."

Turning away and moved over to Aiko. Turk whispered to her, "When we get planetside, I want to you stay in the landcraft. Even if Oraph stuff isn't the best for this job, it's safer than going outside. I was hoping we'd get a Surveyor, since the onboard computer systems would have a database that could complete our data, and send us in the right direction. If they're forcing you out of the transport, stick with me. You'll be alright." Turk patted her on the head, and resumed observing the secretary.

Throughout the meeting, Raina had been quiet. She leaned against the wall next to the door, her head tilted down, but her eyes were on everyone; switching from one speaker to the next, looking for tensed muscles, twitching and other tell-tale signs.

At Turk's points, she had smirked and nodded approvingly.

"So. Turk, was it?" She looked at the brunette. "Red's right. You shouldn't be chewing out at the secretary there. She can't do shit."

The darker brunette stood to stand next to the hapless secretary and rested her arm on her shoulder. Leaning against her slightly, Raina continued with a smirk, "It's me you should make your demands to. I am in charge of your safety, after all." She made eye contact with everyone else in the room. "All of you."

After a few moments' silence, the exotic female leaned into the secretary's ear with a throaty whisper, "Write down his requests, will you?" the lady nodded as furiously as she blushed; her eyes refusing to make any contact with Raina's form. The green eyed mercenary smirked as she folded her arms and leaned against the wall behind her. "What was it you wanted, again? Keep it simple to understand, will ya?"

I don't know what's harder to believe, that this woman was in charge of our safety, or that she didn't know where the archives were. This is confusing- Both points contradicted each other. If she was one of the superiors, she would clearly know where the archives were. Was she wasting my time? Couldn't be. Her behavior is also quite different from the Oraph superiors, but the fact that the organization ignored me stabbing that man in the chest... There are too many unpredictable factors. Turk didn't like this one bit. If this woman was one of his superiors, this mission wasn't going to turn out well. This wasn't the first time that he had encountered people who behaved like her. The Tomb Runner's captain and operations supervisor were like this too- Didn't take things seriously, and acted arrogant. The Tomb Runner ended up getting ambushed by pirates after salvaging a ship graveyard, and Turk ended up working alongside the pirates and making it back to 'safe' space alive.

"I believe that I made myself very clear and understandable the first time. I requested that we be supplied with Terra Group Surveyor, environmental protection suits, and melee weapons. All of which should be able to stand up to hostile conditions, similar to those of planets lacking a stable atmosphere, or habitable climate." Turk responded to the woman's request.

After the events of the night before, and the awkward words he found himself speaking to Aiko, Jun found himself unwilling to attend the funeral. Of course, his sister would insist that he go anyways, there was no doubt in his mind about that. Even so, the idea of having to actually confront all that bull he said last night was just flat out embarrassing to him.

Plus, he wasn't sure he could stand looking at another dead body right now.

Right before the ceremonies started, Jun excused himself to the bathroom, and didn't come back. If anyone cared about his absence, they didn't bother to confront him about it.

--------------------------

"We also recommend that you make a stop at the shooting range, if able. Marksmanship will be an important piece of your first mission, so it would probably be best for all of you if you got some practice beforehand."

Zhi had a hard time hiding her disbelief when their employer's intentions were announced. She knew she could expect some military style work when she signed up with a group like this, but she hardly expected to be thrown straight into the heat of battle.

"Excuse me, sir. I don't mean to doubt your judgement, but do you really think we're all capable of doing such a job? Some of us may have combat experience, but many others, like myself, have never even touched a gun. Is this really the right route to take?" She spoke up to the one who confronted them. Unfortunately, he concern was little more than brushed off.

"If you have any concerns, bring them up at the meeting tonight. Everything will be explained then, by people more qualified to answer your questions."

She wasn't even able to get another question in before they left.

-------------------------

The proper meeting that night provided some of the answers promised, but only with the addition of several more questions. Most importantly, they still failed to clarify just why they thought a group of simple civilians would be right for the job, save for the quick mention of their possible immunity to the disease going on. An immunity they didn't even have any proof that they really had.

Zhi had no idea how to take it. Everything they were telling her seemed completely insane, and the more they talked about it, the less she felt like she was qualified. Just what kind of use would Oraph have for an advertising agent in the field? When they first recruited her, and asked for her personal information, she just automatically assumed that they would place her in a desk or management job. It would be the only course of action that would make sense.

But no. They were set on sending them on this seemingly suicidal mission, with little explanation of their qualifications. It was almost as if their sole reason for being here was because they were disposable.

"I'm not comfortable with this." Zhi eventually spoke up, once the opening in the conversation came up. Most of the others echoed her sentiments.

-------------------------

The security guards found Jun fiddling with a broom in one of the storage closets several minutes after the meeting had already begun. He tried to make it clear to them that he simply wasn't there for the meeting announcement in the first place, but the guards seemed to take that as all the more reason to berate him for his incompetence.

He then tried to argue that his incompetence made him unsuited for whatever the hell they wanted to make him do right now, but they only answered that one with a tug on his jacket, and command that he follow them to the meeting room. His escort into the hallway was so forced that he didn't even get a chance to drop the broom before he left.

-------------------------

"What she's trying to say, is that she's not the person we should be socking for sending us on a suicide mission. That sound about right?"

The first sentence Jun was pelted with when he finally arrived wasn't exactly the most welcoming. In fact, he was ready to categorize it under "Signs I Should Get Far, Far Away", alongside such events as "Sociopath threatens to stick a knife in me" and "Aiko has a gun in her apron". Yeah, that sounded like a pretty damn good idea, right now.

After trying, and mostly failing, to piece exactly what was going on right now together from Sociopath-With-Knife and Almost-Certainly-A-Whore's comments, Jun eventually settled on the more straightforward route to figuring out if he should give a shit about what's happening right now. He stepped up, idly cocking his broom over his shoulder to keep his temper in check.

"What do we get if we succeed?"

Raina looked at the newest arrival with a cocked brow.

"What do you get?" She asked for clarification.

"What do you get?!" She echoed in a tone that implied she was half amused, half disbelieving.

She laughed for a few seconds. Then, she sobered.

"What do we get?" She faced the secretary with an inquiring look.

"I can't force you to go," the secretary responded to Zhi. "We can't force anyone to go. Unfortunately, we're at our wit's end trying to find a solution to this problem. If we don't produce a solution, then the UF will move ahead with quarantining Morgan the way it has Persephone and we'll be left to hope that the problem is solved for good this time. Understand that none of us want that to happen. You all realize the slim odds of this mission's success, so it should come as no surprise that it's our last-ditch effort. No one else is willing to do it, so I thought, I mean, we thought, that we could appeal to you, for the sake of protecting your homeland."

"What do we get if we succeed?" Jun inquired, a sentiment that was echoed by Raina.

"Well, aside from your paycheck, you'll certainly get a handsome bonus. If you choose to continue working for Oraph, you'll almost certainly receive promotions as well. If not, then I'm sure we could arrange for you to be returned to Morgan once this is all settled."

Extra money would be a nice resource to have, but it's not enough. I can't fix this problem by throwing money at it.

Nate looked around at who he wished would become his allies, a few of which grudgingly, most likely, and his mind was made up.

Risk or no risk, I've got to work with these guys. These missions... They're probably the only way any of us can learn to work together. ...Even if I end up breaking us apart.

"If you can get us the equipment Turk asked for, I'll go. I don't know how well I'll be able to help, but I'll go."

As soon as it was said, he went silent.

Arel had already decided.

"I'm going, if I can somehow help stop this...rampant disease or whatever then I'll go. ...I can't just sit around after hearing what's really going on."

Arel tightened the band on her navigator's goggles as she said so, "I have family down in Morgan...and I don't want anyone else to suffer..." There was no way that she would turn her back on helping someone in need. If there was even a slim chance that what they did during this mission could help others then it was a risk she was willing to take, alone or not.

"If we're not getting that can stand up to the forces of nature, there's no way we'll be able to stay alive in unknown conditions. Either get us the terraforming gear, or I'm out. I don't intend on dying here."

Anything that Oraph offered would be useless upon death. Be it millions of currency units, or just enough to buy some rags, it would be useless to me if I was unable to spend it. Anyone who considers rewards without taking into account risk deserves to die. I wouldn't mind offing them myself, to be honest. Idiots will only get me killed. Turk took a glance at Nate, and then turned back to the secretary. "Looks like your personnel count drops by two if you don't provide us with proper equipment."

"Make that all of your personnel here."

When all eyes turned to her in confusion, she smirked. It was beginning to annoy the others, she noticed. Good.

"Look, blondie," Raina turned to the secretary. "I'm not sure if your boss' told you, but..." She dragged out the last word, sparing a glance to every other person in the room. "I've been assigned by the President of Oraph himself to make sure these suckers don't get themselves killed."

The half-Asian wrapped an arm around the secretary's waist. "Like Turkie over there said, we're gonna die out there without proper equipment. So either tell your boss to meet our new standards or I tell the super boss to piss on everyone in this division."

She leaned a little closer to the secretary's ear, whispering, like she did before, "So what'll it be?"

Money. Money and passage back to that hellhole of a moon. Like either of those things mattered to him. He was nothing at home, and if all he got here was some cash, then, well, it didn't seem quite worth his life. Not that he had any idea what they were supposed to be doing, anyways.

Wait, but did they mention of a promotion? Promotion from what? Random mooks and prisoners? He was pretty sure they hadn't even gotten jobs yet. While the idea seemed nice, in the current circumstances really just made it confusing in practice.

"I'm with the others. I'm not in unless we at least have... equipment, or whatever." He added in, awkwardly glancing over to Zhi at the end of his sentence. Did she at least know what was going on?

"I agree." She said. Well, that seemed like proof enough.

"Right," the secretary replied. "I'll speak with the commander about your requests."

And so the mission was greenlit, with the request for additional equipment approved. As a result, the mission was delayed from this evening to he morning after. The team was given the rest of the day off to prepare and to practice with the weapons they would be using. Night fell and passed. Morning came and the crew of the Lucent was called down to the hangar.

Catalina was the first one to arrive. As the others filtered in, a team of crew members came to the hangar wheeling four heavy-looking crates.

"Special delivery for Captain Catalina Fenbrook, straight from Tetracorp." The red-haired captain clapped her hands ecstatically.

"Haaa, it's here just in time! Pity I won't have a chance to test it before leaving. Ah well, load it up! We'll see what my new baby's capable of once we drop onto Persephone." Once the last checks were made, the crew was permitted to board. Waiting on the catwalk were Rex and Rena. Rena grabbed Aiko by the arm as she passed by and delicately placed one of her toy robots into her hands.

"I want you to have this for the mission. His name's Excelsior. He's kind of slow but he always gets the job done and brings everybody home safe. So, he'll definitely bring you good luck. Take good care of him for me, okay?"

Rex waved them off as they boarded the red craft. "You guys hurry home, all right? Good luck."

The Lucent took off from the hangar and began its ascent through the cloudy atmosphere of Erza. To pass the time on the journey to the Nexus Node, Catalina went over the itinerary for their mission.

"From the moment we enter Persephone airspace, we'll be there for exactly 168 hours. The Nexus Node for Persephone is decommissioned, so they're opening it up just long enough for us to get through. Keep in mind that information takes 11 years to be communicated to and from Persephone, so if we miss our window to return, we're going to be stuck there a long, long time. We don't know what the situation on Persephone is going to be like, so it's too dangerous to take the Lucent planetside. We'll be taking the surveyor down to the surface while the Lucent stays in orbit. Everyone got that?"

After the itinerary meeting, the crew was dismissed to do what they wanted. It was a full two days' journey to Persephone, with most of it spent in transit between four different Nexus Nodes. Fortunately, the Lucent was sizable and comfortable. There were communal sleeping quarters, but the captain had her own private quarters to rest in.

Growing restless with nothing to do and an exciting mission ahead of her, Catalina invited Zhi and Jun to play cards in the lounge. She poured them each a glass of champagne (which regulation specifically outlawed on missions) and sighed. "Sheesh, talk about a bunch of rejects. No wonder you guys were chosen for this mission. Have you read the dossiers? I got landed with a bunch of backwater trueborns. I guess you can't expect much from cannon fodder though, huh? Still, we got the short end of the stick."

Turk gave a sigh of relief as he was informed that he was going to have access to the equipment he requested. In the time that he had before the mission, Turk made sure to spend it attempting to increase Aiko's chances of survival. The girl is a baker, no experience in live combat, no experience salvaging in the middle of nowhere. This will be interesting, but with the equipment that we've been able to get, this sound be a lot easier. Calling her over while everyone else practiced with firearms, Turk handed her his knife. "I assume that if you work with food, you have more experience using knives than using guns. Part of the equipment that I requested contains weapons for use in close range combat and combat in confined locations. There will be knives in there, probably far better than this one, and they'll cut through a man like like a food knife cuts through a stick of processed grains. Get acquainted with this, and give it it back to me before we get on the Lucent."

Upon boarding the Lucent, Turk headed right for the Surveyor, and began running diagnostics and checking the vehicle for any damage or complications. "I've never seen an intact Surveyor before. Plenty of wrecks and components incorporated into other vehicles, but never an intact one." He wired his data tool into the vehicle's on-board computer, and began scanning the system for corruption or damaged data. Afterwards, Turk found the environmental protection suits, and put one on himself. He grabbed another one, and headed to look for Aiko, who he found hidden away, still confused and worried. "These are what we'll be wearing when we get to Persephone. Best get used to wearing one, since that's what will happen for the entire time that we're on the planet. It will completely isolate you from the environment. It has its own oxygen supply, which we can refill from the Surveyor, but most of the time, we'll be using the built-in air recycling systems." Turk paused for a moment to point at the different parts of the suit, making sure that Aiko at least had some knowledge about where everything was. "This is why I requested terraforming equipment. Most colonies and planets that we humans live on have friendly atmospheres. We can breathe, the water is generally safe, and the climate doesn't cook or freeze us as soon as we make contact with it. It wasn't always this way though, which makes this equipment perfect for investigating a sealed off planet that was infected by an incurable disease. If you have any questions, I'll be in the Surveyor. Oh, and you don't have to put that on right away, just do it when you're ready. The sooner the better." Turk left Aiko alone, and returned to the landcraft.

He gave me his knife, Aiko thought with a shiver. This very same knife was used to stab the doctor. He expects me to use it with the same intent, to attack, to maim . . . to kill.

It wasn't the same at all. The force behind cooking was a creative force, a life-giving force, meant to nourish oneself and others. Death was involved, to be sure, but Aiko wasn't a butcher, and she always tried to honor the continual sacrifice of livestock by never wasting food. In the kitchen, she worked with all the strength she had so that her pastry might be better.

But things were different now.

"I have no choice," she murmured. "I can't be useless here. I can't."

And so she began.

--------------------------

She returned the knife to Turk once everyone was aboard the Lucent, listening intently as he explained the need for the terraforming equipment he had requested---well, demanded---earlier. After he left her, Aiko donned the suit she had been given, stopping to ensure that Excelsior was still in her apron pocket where she had put him before their departure. Once the suit was secure, she struck up a conversation with the toy, hoping it would calm her nerves.

"Gee, Excelsior, Mr. Liu sure has been nice to me . . . and Rena too. Oh, that reminds me! The young man with her was her brother, right? Funny. I pictured him as a little boy not much older than Rena, but he's just about my age! Hee." She giggled a little, blushing at the thought of her prior ignorance of the fact.

"What's that? I was silly to think so? Well, you're right. I am."

After a final night of much needed boredom, they set off.

Before they left, Jun made sure to ask Zhi about what, exactly, was going on, but he unfortunately didn't get the full answer until they stepped onto the ship.

He really found himself wishing that wasn't the case. The concerns about the trip being a suicide mission very quickly started to make sense. They made sense, and there was nothing he could do about it any more.

------------------------

When the Captain asked Jun if he wanted to play a game of cards with her and his sister, he found himself filled with the fiery enthusiasm of a thousand suns after they burned out in the cold, dark, depths of space.

He stared at her in hope that it would get his opinion across. The beaming smile on her face implied that it didn't. However, the contents of one of her hands somewhat overpowered that.

Champagne. Alcohol.

"Yeah, okay. Sure." He agreed, for once not faking his grin.

-------------------------

"Have you read the dossiers? I got landed with a bunch of backwater trueborns. I guess you can't expect much from cannon fodder though, huh? Still, we got the short end of the stick."

The side of Zhi's shirt was showered with the champagne Jun had just attempted to drink a moment ago. She almost found herself not minding. Compared to the pompous bigotry this woman was touting, a stain on her shirt seemed like nothing. Even if these people were weaker by birth, this kind of treatment was just unforgivable. Support the underdog, don't kick them.

Even so, an unfortunate fact was showing it's ugly face right now. This woman was her boss. Active disagreement would mean nothing but making them all look bad. The best course of action would probably be to drive the subject away for the moment.

"Cannon fodder? What exactly do they have planned for us? Have you been told anything outside of the objectives?"

As she spoke, Jun refilled his glass before stepping toward the door out.

(The following conversation took place over IM, so I'm recording it here. If there's ever a time when you want to have a full conversation with an NPC, feel free to let me know, since IM/PM is a lot faster than forum. Also, don't be shy about asking other players the same!)

"They don't have anything planned for us," the captain replies, in the middle of shuffling the deck of cards when she notices Jun starting to leave. Well, that's awkward. "But I don't think they expect us to come back alive. No idea how many people are still alive there, you know. They could have a full armed military ready to take us captive the minute we drop out of the Nexus."

Zhi doesn't stop her brother. In fact, in her head, she does just the opposite. As always, she fully expected him to do the dirty work. "How were we even told about the situation? You mentioned that communication takes a long time to travel there and back. Did someone plead to us by ship?"

Catalina empties her glass and begins to refill it, looking over her shoulder at something briefly before she starts dealing out cards for a two-person game of blackjack. "Oh, no, no, it's not like that. Normally, communications take forever since they travel at light speed and all these planets are lightyears apart, right? Well, that's what the Nexus Surrogate is for. Each station has a Nexus Surrogate which beams messages through the Nexus, which cuts the communication time down to a couple hours, or a day. Well, back when things went to hell on Persephone, the UF made the decision to quarantine the place, so they blew up the Nexus Surrogate and shut down the gate."

Zhi picked up her hand of cards, and looked them over in attempt to fend off her concern. "When was it that you heard from them?"

"Ughhh," she replies, either because of her hand or because of the question. She decides to take a hit and groans again, now showing 15. "I wasn't with Oraph at the time so I don't know. Truth be told, I wasn't even involved in this crap until a couple days ago. They were offering an instant promotion, no questions asked, to whoever signed up for the job."

"And the risk seemed worth it, to you?" Zhi also decides to take a hit, though mostly only to keep the game moving. She wasn't thinking too hard about her hand.

"You're a businesslady, aren't you? Then you know that if you want to stay ahead of the game, you've got to take risks. I'm not going to just sit around and wait for success to come to me. Besides," she continues, shaking her glass and watching the ice rattle, "we're going to be the first humans to set foot on this planet after it's been cut off for 15 years. No matter what we find there, it's going to be something we remember for the rest of our lives." She takes another hit and sighs, flipping over her total of 23 and using this as an excuse to refill her glass.

Zhi smiles, though perhaps without real meaning. "No, I understand perfectly. Progress isn't made through inaction. If you want to make something of yourself, then you need to put an effort into it. I don't think we're going to fail this mission. We're going to make the most of what we have, and pull through this well enough to reap our rewards."

"We probably won't fail it," Catalina responds. "Worst case scenario is that they survived and they're planning to hold us for ransom. If that's the case, then I don't think we stood a chance from the beginning." Dealing another hand, she takes another sip of champagne. "Say, are you hungry? It's been an hour since dinner but man, I'm ready for breakfast already."

Zhi waits patiently for the deal, and finally takes a sip of her drink before speaking. "Do we have the rations to spare for extra meals?"

"We have a few spare to use at my discretion. They didn't plan for us being there longer because, well...if we're not back in a week, it'll be 11 years before our next chance home." This time, she stops with 9 showing.

Zhi looks over her hand, and finds herself with a 12. She hesitatingly asks for a hit. "Well, in that case, then I'm going to have to agree. I'm starving."

Catalina beams and stands up, laying down her cards to fetch a boxed meal for each of them. "Well, they're to be used at my discretion, so be discreet about it, okay?"

Zhi laughs, and sets aside her cards immediately after drawing. She doesn't bother to look at what she got. "I will."

She immediately digs in and starts to relax. "So, what are you going to do with yourself and your nice paycheck once we get back from Planet Graveyard? Is it back to the boonies or are you going to hang around Erza? They'll probably have a promotion lined up for anyone who wants it."

Zhi follows Catalina's lead when she gets started on her meal. It was predictably disappointing in quality, but she tried to look past it. "I'm most likely going to try to find an opportunity to get a job I have a better chance of progressing in. Idealy I'd like to use my success here as a bartering tool into a good position outside of Oraph, if at all possible. It's not that I dislike it here, but I do find myself wondering if this is really the right place for me. And it's certainly not the right place for Jun. He's going to need something to do with himself, and I don't think that exists here. This kind of life is tough. What about you?"

"Well, I'm sure you'll have no trouble. Having government work on your resume will get you places. Especially Oraph. As for me, I'm not going anywhere. Piloting's my life. There's nothing as much fun as coasting the stars or riding the Nexus. Besides, I like to be in the know. You get to learn a lot of secrets when you work for Oraph. A lot of stuff that never leaves Erza." Quickly finishing her meal, Catalina tosses the empty box into the wastebin and looks contemplative before grabbing another. "What's the deal with your brother, anyways? Does he have...you know, Utrecht? ...No, wait, you guys are real people. Then why are you babysitting?"

Zhi's stomach turns at the mention of them being the only "Real people" here, driving her to wave off any further offers of more food. She also found herself thinking of the other woman as a bit of a pig, but she kept that to herself. "He... just hasn't had much success in keeping his own life together. He's never been the sort for traditional work. I'm not entirely sure what the cause is, but over the years it's just become obvious that he needs someone to help him keep standing. And it's not like I mind. To be honest, I feel comfortable helping him out."

"Huhh... Really? You sure he's real? Sounds like a 'trechie to me. I can't stand working with them, but they screen for that nowadays. Used to be real bad. You learn after a while in the military to never trust your life to a trueborn. What? Don't give me that look. It's hard science. They come down with all sorts of disorders that we're protected against. When you're being overrun by rebels, who are you going to trust, someone who's genetically predisposed to having a panic attack in stressful situations or someone who didn't come shipped with defects?"

Zhi's patience begins to run thin. It was beginning to seem like this woman was going to go for any chance to make a shot. With that put on top of the piggishness, and aimless assumptions about her own family, it was really getting hard to justify putting up with her. "... Please. I'm older than him. I was there for his birth. I'm absolutely certain he was born like you and I. My family wouldn't have it any other way." Her own last sentence causes her to pause for a moment, uncomfortable with even her own implications, now. "Furthermore, I don't believe it's healthy to just push aside people who have trouble taking care of themselves. If they need help, then, and if you truly believe yourself to be more capable than them, help. I don't mean to critisize your views too harshly, but I just can't help but find it to be a waste."

"I'm not going to refuse help to someone who needs it, but sooner or later, you'll understand that some people just can't be helped. You've never seen a 'trechie, have you? I can tell. They say it happens to some crazy number of trueborns, too, like 30%. It eats at their brain, you see. They have to get loaded up with drugs so that they forget how badly they want to kill themselves. Now you tell me, is that helping or is it prolonging their suffering? You hear about what happened to Victoria Visconti? That's when they started screening for Utretcht before you could get a job in the government."

Zhi drinks down the last of her champagne, and despertately finds herself wishing it could kick in immediately. "No, I haven't, but I doubt giving up on all True Borns because of the disease is the answer. As a disorder, there must be a specific cause, beyond just the way they were born. People have found cures for illnesses post-birth many times in the past. I feel like we're perfectly capable of doing the same now. Just as long as people don't begin to think that the only solution is letting them die out. Quarentine is only a temporary measure. In the end, the best solution is to cure. After all, isn't that what we're trying to do right now?"

"Well, they've been trying for the past couple hundred years. We'll see. I guess it's not surprising that you didn't hear. They probably covered it up, but it's one of those stories you hear about once you've been working at Oraph for long enough. She was clean, right? No one thought anything was weird about her. Anyways, she goes away on a mission to Persephone and comes back. The day she gets back, the woman tries to drown her kids in a bathtub when they find her. Turns out she had digressed into the late stages of Utrecht, all over the course of a week. She runs off and jumps. You know there's no surface on Erza, right? It's like falling into the ocean. You go deep enough down and the atmospheric pressure is so high that air is compressed into a liquid."
Catalina empties the bottle into her glass and leans back, downing it with one swallow.

Zhi looks down at her empty glass, and pauses. Are you afraid of it? That someone here is going to give in to it?"

"UF standing order 78: If a soldier shows signs of Utrecht digression on a mission, they're to be terminated. Just put in place this year. Am I afraid of it? Damn right I am. It can show up on the drop of a dime. Could get us all killed. What if they decide to take the ship down with them? What if they decide to strand us on Persephone? When their brain starts burning up, they stop thinking about anything but self-mutilation."

Zhi's sense of well being starts dropping, and the small amount of alcohol was doing nothing to help it. At this point, it seemed like the healthiest thing the conversation could do right now was just die. Kind of like those poor Utrecht victims, in Catalina's eyes. "... It probably won't happen. I've been with these people for nearly a week now, and they've been fairly stable within that time." Though Aiko did worry her a little. She would have to keep an eye on her, to keep her safe. "Aside from that, there's not much we can do right now, but hope for the best."

"Well, I think I'm going to hit the sack," the captain announces, standing up. "Not feeling too hot. Probably ate too fast. By the way, I'm appointing you to Lieutenant, effective immediately. You know them better than I do, so if you think something's going on, you tell me. Especially that Turk guy. I don't want to have to deal with his attitude in a life or death situation."

Zhi finds herself somewhat thrown off by her assignment, though not at all disappointed. It was the first good thing that came out of this little ordeal. "... Thank you. I'll do my best. You should sleep well. I'm considering doing the same myself, soon."

"I'll gather us up for final check-in before we do the last gate hop. Get plenty of sleep. I have a feeling there won't be much of that when we hit planetside."

"I will. Is there anything you'd like me to tell the others?"

"Check-in will be the last time we're in touch with Erza for a week. If they have any questions or concerns, then will be the time to ask."

"Understood. I'll be sure to tell them. Thank you again, this was nice." Zhi nodded to the other woman, before excusing herself to the door.

Turk sat in the Surveyor, parsing the data, and reflecting on a past operation. He wasn't sure which he preferred more: Death by virus, or death by lava.

Glancing at his data tool, which was locked in its usual in and around his arm, he thought back to when he first obtained it. That was probably the worst job I've been on. I got this thing out of it, but I doubt I'll ever forget what happened on that planet. It was bad enough that there was lava and fire everywhere, but the what the rest of the team did when we found this... I've never seen people so desperately kill each other, and I've never seem anyone die so horrifically." Turk had spent everyday since then devoted to learning more about the people who had built the tool. He owed that much to the men that it killed. [i]I suppose I'm lucky that it didn't kill me too. I guess humans used to be paranoid back in the far off past. It's hard to believe that an arm-mounted embedded computer, now inferior due to continued development in quantum computing, would be at anytime the zenith of humanity's technology. It's hard to believe that the system has genetic monitoring, and a built in kill system.

It had been long since the time where mankind assumed that there were others in the Universe. Every exploration team was equipped with the ability to fight non-human sentients, as well different means of safeguarding equipment, from on-board kill systems to self-destruct, as well as random FTL jumps and database purges in the case of encountering a superior force.

Turk quickly shook the thoughts out of his head, and tried to forget what the manual 'death' sequence was. Despite that, he knew how to trigger the process so well that he could do it in his sleep- Which served as one of the reasons why he turned off the device while he was sleeping. I can't trust anyone here with my life. I can't even trust myself with my life. If I plan on keeping myself and that girl alive, I better be prepared to do it alone.

Turk turned back to the vehicle's controls, and starting setting them up to interface with his arm. If he was going to step off the Surveyor at any time, he was going to make sure that he could use it from the outside, just in case he needed to have it run over a mutant, or worse, someone one else on the team.

----

Accessing one of the Lucent's intraship communication terminals, Turk sent a message to the captain about what he believed was the best plan for landing on Persephone.

Captain,

As the Lucent holds our one means of leaving Persephone, it is in our best interests to keep it in orbit. The Surveyor can stand atmospheric reentry, and is equipped with low power thrusters on its underside for landing, as well as navigating rough terrain. Keeping the Lucent allows us to use it for air support, having it enter the atmosphere briefly to deposit supply containers, as well as providing heavy firepower. This also gives us the ability to extract anyone from any location exposed to the surface, in the case that we lose the Surveyor, or the team is divided.

The final plan is up to you, but keep in mind that, as a result of our lack of knowledge, life and death aren't separated by too much. We need to do everything we can within our own power, even if it is futile. Nothing comes about from waiting for an entity that can grant any wish. If we rely on ourselves, we have a reasonable idea about how we can fail. It's rather unlikely that we'd have to fight anything mythological like a witch, but we should be prepared for -anything-.

-Turk Liu

Turk believed that this was the best way to handle things- Treating it as if it the planet itself was hostile, and assuming that there would be war and chaos on the planet. Even if neither were true, it is far better to be over-prepared and alive, rather than under-prepared and dead. "There better not be a salvager or scavenger war on Persephone. I'll be damned if I have to fight in one again." Turk cursed, and went back to inspecting equipment.

Arel had been standing in the lounge holding her brother's dogtags up to the light. "I'm finally going on a mission. It's kinda unreal....to think I'd actually get the chance to be in the military despite...."

Her voice trailed off as Arel's face became sullen. Even if she had the feeling that they were being used as pawns....this opportunity...for a trueborn like her might never come again. She had to do well in this mission. Arel moved to place the necklace back around her neck before a sharp pain assaulted her right eye. Her hands immediately dropped the tags and reached to cover the painful area. The tags clacked on the ground before becoming partially hidden under a couch. The navigator was now crouched down in front of the Arel could only see multicolored flashes as she grimaced. "Shit. Didn't think it would happen so soon."

During her physical examination the examiner said it was only a matter of time before another attack would come. A few tears trickled down from the pain, it felt like her right eye had been shot to pieces.

Tak tak tak....Multiple people were approaching.

I don't ...want them to see me like this! I can't let them know! The panic that had welled up in her chest exploded as she hurriedly hid herself behind a tall stack of material crates that were still left in the lounge. Arel crouched down low, trying to keep herself quiet as possible, and silently wishing for this hell to end.

She heard the clinking of glasses and the pop of a champagne bottle being opened. "Sheesh, talk about a bunch of rejects. No wonder you guys were chosen for this mission. Have you read the dossiers? I got landed with a bunch of backwater trueborns. I guess you can't expect much from cannon fodder though, huh? Still, we got the short end of the stick." That voice...Arel realized with a shudder it was none other than the "captain".

Maybe Arel was too naiive to realize it...that maybe this was the harsh reality. Catalina was just like the rest of those people who looked down upon trueborns. She continued to listen on, her hands slowly clenching into fists the more that Catalina continued to talk. Eventually the navigator was able to identify the other mysterious person as Zhi. Unwilling to reveal herself to the two, Arel waited...the constant pain in her eye slowly began to ebb, but the continuous assault had left her fatigued.

"Well, I think I'm going to hit the sack," the captain announces, standing up. "Not feeling too hot. Probably ate too fast. By the way, I'm appointing you to Lieutenant, effective immediately. You know them better than I do, so if you think something's going on, you tell me. Especially that Turk guy. I don't want to have to deal with his attitude in a life or death situation."

Eventually the captain left and so did Zhi. Tak tak tak...the footsteps finally faded away into nothingness. Shakily, Arel stood up but nearly toppled over as her body felt sore and weary from sitting in the same spot for so long. Taking a deep breath, Arel slowly removed her hand from the right side of the her face and in horror saw the traces of blood. Panic began to well up as she slowly opened her right eye...and saw nothing. Not even the blurry shapes of people that she could see beforehand. Panic, pain, and anger began to swirl together as the captain's words began to echo in her mind.

Leaning on a wall, she made her way towards the captain's quarters. Reaching into her jacket pocket she took out a black military issue survival knife.

She banged on the door.

"Open up goddamit!"

When there was no answer Arel proceeded to stab the password console. The console exploded sending shards of shrapnel flying. Pieces of it cut Arel on the face and arms, but she didn't care. The blade of the knife was stuck in a wall and Arel removed it without hesitating. She gripped the blade firmly in her hand even though it cut into her flesh. The door had opened with a hiss and Arel ran in. The captain was on her bed clad in a revealing nightgown . The confused and enraged pilot barged into the room and lunged on the bed pinning the captain down and held her survival knife in one hand at the captain's throat.

"DId you really think.....I didn't hear your little conversation? I thought that you were going to be different when I first saw you in the hangar, but I guess I was wrong. I knew that we were going to be cannon fodder, but ....I.......I didn't mind! Anything would be better than having to succumb to this stupid disease. I take pride in knowing I can help people." Arel venomously spat out these words. And yet people like you....treat us like trash. When we're trying our best, despite what we are.

"I HATE IT. People like you..you think you're so pompous being genetically altered. It makes me sick. Did you ever think to wonder how us 'trash' feel?"

So this is what you died for...brother.

(Adapted from an IM scene.)

The captain's eyes open from her light sleep when she hears someone pounding on the door. She pretends not to notice it and closes her eyes again. Before she knew it, her door was forced open and there was a raging crew member on top of her holding a knife to her throat. A mix of embarrassment, bewilderment, fear, and anger paints the red-haired captain's expression. "How you feel? How you FEEL? Ahahaha, you should FEEL grateful that we even let you mop the floor, you defective ingrate!"

The captain’s words were like a blow to the face. Defective….The knife trembled in Arel’s hands. “I’m…not defective! I’m perfectly fine! I can work the same as you. WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT? We bleed the same. So why do you keep looking down on us!? We’re saving lives of ‘your’ kind.� The knife pressed down upon the soft flesh of the captain, leaving a thin cut upon her skin.

The captain stares daringly up into Arel's eyes, even as a thin ribbon of red trickles down her neck. "What makes you different? How many real humans have pulled knives on crew members? I guess it's not fair to blame you. You're sick, after all. You were born sick. I kind of feel sorry for you. You were born without a future."

“Stop saying those words. I’m …not…..sick! I have a future!!!!� Tears of anger began to well up in her eyes. “I’m the best pilot that Morgan has dammit. I swear that I will take your stupid title away from you.� She withdrew the knife and buried it into the pillow right beside the captain’s head. Another knife of pain assaulted her eye. “Ngh…�

The captain laughs and opens her mouth to say something, but cuts herself off when Arel shows visible signs of pain. "Stupid, what are you doing? You're not going to have a future mopping floors let alone piloting if you don't get that looked at. I'm taking you down to the medical bay, Mathis. ...As soon as you get off of me."

“I …refuse! I’m fine on my own. I’m not going to accept help from someone like you. I’d rather die.�

"Well, like it or not, keeping you alive is part of my job. Now get off me, Mathis. That's an order."

".....I still refuse. Not until you start treating us like equals." Arel continued to stare at the captain while trying to maintain a good grip so she couldn't move.

"Mathis, there are a lot of places on this ship better suited for negotiation than my bed. Now, I'm not going to ask again."

“I….refuse….� The pain only wore down her stamina, and now she found it difficult to keep her remaining sight focused on the captain. Beads of sweat coated her brow and her breathing eventually became ragged. “I’m not going to bac-“ Her words were cut off by an intense wave of pain erupted in both eyes. Arel released her grip on the captain to try to get off the bed, both eyes squeezed shut.

"Tch, again with the attitude." The captain sits up and holds onto the cringing Arel, who she feared was on the verge of collapsing. "Come on, on your feet." She plants her own feet on the floor and stands up.

Arel shakily tried to stand up, holding onto the bed to make sure she didn't topple over. "Just....go away. I don't ...need your... pity" The navigator moved past the captain slowly with a hand outstretched to make sure she didn't walk into a wall. Even though Arel wanted to strangle this person in front of her, she felt like she had no strength now.

"Hnngh... what a nuisance," the captain sighs, holding her head. "I'm not helping you because I want to. It's just my job as a superior. Now stop fighting and follow me before I drag you to the medical wing." Catalina advances in front of Arel and holds up her arm in front of the other's outstretched hand.

Arel wordlessly takes the offered arm. The captain, still clad in a nightgown, leads Arel below deck to the medical bay and insists on her lying down while she starts fetching supplies. She returns moments later and places a cool, moist cloth over Arel's eyes. "Has this happened before? ...Is this a regular occurrence? Jeez, the hell were they doing sending a cripple on this mission?"

"Shut up, I'm not a cripple. I can still go on the mission. Even if I was a cripple I'd still make good 'canon fodder' right?" Arel snapped as she lay on the bed.

"A cripple isn't cannon fodder; they're dead weight. Now cough up the answers. How bad is it? What treatment do you take?"

Arel twisted to the side so her face couldn't be seen by the captain. She didn't reply for a few seconds. "I suffer from glaucoma, there's no treatment and I'm eventually going to go blind. I used to be able to see shapes out of my right eye...but now...." Her voice trailed off.

Great. She got landed with a half-blind trueborn. Better to find out now than on the ground, at least. "Well, I'll give you something for the pain. We ain't got a doctor on board so that's the best I can do for now." Catalina pours a glass of water and hands it to Arel along with three pills. She decided not to tell her that one of them was a sleeping pill. Instead, she replaces the cloth over the girl's eyes and dabs at her brow lightly with the cool cloth. "I should make you stay on the ship while we go to the ground. Give me one good reason why I should risk taking you along."

"I'll be useful if you find any craft, I can fix almost any ship, and I'll probably be more useful than half of the others in a fight. Is that good enough for you? I've proved my worth by escaping that flying coffin of a ship and I can do it again." Arel gulped down the glass of water along with the three pills.

"As tempted as I am to teach you a lesson about insubordination, we don't have the manpower to leave anyone behind. Don't let me down, Mathis." The captain starts for the door of the medical bay and turns off the light. "And one more thing. Don't let me catch you coming into my quarters uninvited again. Understood?"

There was no reply from the navigator as she had already fallen victim to the hidden sleeping pill.

"Tch. Lightweight." The captain left the medical bay and returned to her quarters.

Turk made rounds on the entire ship, slinking around and getting into the the core systems. He examined the disgusting Oraph equipment, and reaching engineering, he lost it. Being given better equipment had made him change his mind about this being a suicide mission, but after checking the Lucent, he wasn't so sure anymore.

Turk stormed to the captain's quarters, and invited himself in. I don't believe this. Damn Oraph fools. Finding the captain in her quarters, Turk began to state his concerns about the state of the vessel. "There aren't enough cold sleep capsules for all crew members, and most importantly, no green room. Are you serious?! Tell me, what the hell were you thinking when you let Oraph get away with assigning you to this substandard piece of junk? YOU ARE INSANE!" Turk continued moving closer to the captain, "We can't grow food. We can't escape without the Nexus gate, and we can't freeze ourselves to await rescue. Our supplies are far too limited for anything to be accomplished on Persephone." Something is wrong here. "I hope you have some sort of plan for when we land, Captain, or there is no way we're making it through this." Something is very very wrong. The captain didn't seem like an idiot- She'd probably abandon us planetside, or kill us in whatever fashion that Oraph had commanded. "...That is all. I will be... maintaining the Surveyor if there is anything that you would like to address."

Turk rushed out of the captain's quarters. Aiko. He started searching for her. She needs to know. She needs to stay alive. Turk was frantic, but suppressed any displays of emotion. He finally tracked her down. "Aiko, listen to me. Don't trust anyone from Oraph. The Lucent lacks a green room. No plants. No food other than rations. Rations don't last forever. And... We don't have enough cold sleep capsules for anyone other than the bridge crew and the captain. Something is up. Stay alert, and remember, don't trust anyone." Turk left as abruptly as he came. They can't know that she knows. She's too valuable. Turk then remembered that Aiko had his data storage unit. And she has -that- too.

For the second time that night, the captain was awakened from her sleep by one of her crew members bursting uninvited into her quarters raving. At least this one didn't put a knife to her throat.

"As much as you complain about the equipment we were given, none of it's as bad as the crew I was stuck with," the captain sighs, sitting up in bed. "Look, this is the ship we were assigned to and we're on our way to Persephone as we speak. Why don't you dry your tears and write up a letter of complaint to the commander? Nothing's going to change the situation we got landed with, so man up or shut up. Do you have any idea how far out in the black Persephone is? If we get stranded there, we're done for. That's our incentive to get this job over with quickly and cleanly."

"Now, would you kindly leave my quarters and never barge in here without my permission again?"

***

The time came for the Lucent to perform the last gate jump, the one that would carry them to Persephone. Captain Fenbrook, taking care to be properly dressed this time, gathered the crew for the last briefing. Seeing that Arel was still absent, Catalina sent Zhi to fetch her. "To start off, you're now to address Zhi as Lieutenant Shaomei. Congratulations on your promotion. I've just confirmed with base that everything's in the green for the mission. In 15 minutes, we'll be entering the Nexus Network."

"The worst case scenario is that they have ships stationed on their end of the tunnel waiting to enter the minute the Node opens up. To make sure nothing from their side gets through, Oraph has made sure that the two Nodes are never open at the same time. This end will open up for fifteen minutes to make sure we have enough time to enter safely. After that, it's being closed off again. Once we reach point alpha inside the Nexus, they'll be opening up the other end for another fifteen minutes. That way, any unauthorized crafts that try to gain entry will be stuck in a dead end and be trapped in the Nexus."

Once any questions were addressed, the captain activated the ER shielding and sent a message of confirmation back to Oraph and the Nexus Node opened before them, the blackness of space suddenly lit by a swirling halo of golden light into which the Lucent traveled. Catalina stood on the bridge and checked the navigation computer to ensure that everything was on course, looking ahead into the undulating spiral of glorious light that was their path to the unknown. Her shadow danced and wavered erratically in time with the brilliant display of rhythmically-whirling light that was the interior of the Nexus, the light of which was pouring in through the windows.

The excitement of what lie ahead of them on the other end of the Nexus and the grandeur of the Nexus weren't enough to shake the queasy feeling in her stomach. Grateful that she was alone on the bridge, the captain slipped into the bathroom and knelt near the toilet. Damn, she thought, I should not have eaten so much last night. In spite of her nausea, she was still hungry, even though the thought of more food made her feel even worse. What luck. Right before the mission of my life.

After leaving the bathroom, she decided to get some rest and see if that would clear it up. ...Maybe it wouldn't hurt to have a snack, as long as--

"What the hell?!"

For a brief moment, the golden light pouring in through the windows was eclipsed. Immediately thereafter, a tremendous force rocked the ship, throwing her against the opposite wall. Any loose items scattered and fell to the floor. Lights flickered - some went out completely. The ship continued to tumble, vigorously throwing its contents around like a washing machine. It certainly didn't do much for the captain's nausea.

After nearly a minute of spinning chaos, the ship's navigation computer managed to right the vessel. The captain crawled back to the lounge after getting a status report, pale-faced and a little green. "Everyone, down here, now! Status update: I don't know what in God's name just happened, but at least there were no hull breaches. More pressingly, one of our ER cores has ruptured. The Nexus is going to eat right through our ER shield in five minutes if we don't get that thing replaced. I need two people in the engine room pronto to get it replaced."

"...One more thing. The contents of the ER cores are noxious, so wear your environment suits to be on the safe side. Don't let it rupture any more than it already has."

Turk responded rapidly, "I'll head down there first. Will you be providing instruction, or will there be someone else? I'm not acquainted with Oraph tech." He turned over to Aiko, and sent a private message to her over the suit networks: "Get in the Surveyor. Now."

-=-=-=-=-

Turk headed for the engine room, making note to use the shortcuts and maintenance passages he discovered while combing the ship for things to be displeased with. Reaching the engine room, he found a terminal and contacted the bridge: "I'm hear. What now?"

((Adapted from an IM conversation betwee Tohsaka and I))

Arel donned her environmental suit in record time, running down the halls at a breakneck speed to the engine room. She was surprised to see Turk in there.

"There's no need to ask her for help. Just follow my instructions." Arel went towards a console. "Near the engine there should be a wall around it. There's different holes in the walls corresponding to a different core." Arel's eye scanned the screen in front. "Core number 5 is the one that's busted. Turn the valve on the lid of the hole of number 5 counterclockwise, it should be labeled. Once you get it opened I need you to come over to this console and press the red flashing button to eject the busted one." Arel moved over to another area of the engine room and with some difficulty pulled a large black container box towards them.

"This is a container for used cores...so we can contain the leaking.. Go ahead and start getting that hatch open."

In compliance, Turk started turning the valve on the lid of core number 5, and quickly headed over to the console and ejected the damaged core, once he finished. "Next?"

Arel had been busy adjusting the temperature on the black container while he did so. She looked up once she heard Turk's voice. Her sight zoomed in on the big 200 pound 6 foot long core that was sticking out of the wall. "Damn, it's leaking."A yellow substance was slowly leaking out of a long crack on the side. Arel moved repositioned the container under the ER Core before motioning for Turk to come over.

"Get over here and pull with me. We don't have enough time to use the machine. It'll drop into this container and we'll deal with the core later. I'd suggest that when you start hearing the thing creaking we move out of the way. I've seen people get crushed by these."

"No problem." Turk did as he was instructed and assisted Arel in pulling extracted the core. Hearing the core creaking, he started putting distance between himself and the core. "Those things are heavy. Not as heavy as some of the older engines used in ancient spacecraft. Massive things, a lot of power. Pretty valuable on the market- Not that I ever got a large enough share of the loot."

Turk watched as the damaged core fell, and transitioned the conversation towards the next step. "Seeing as we aren't dealing with a massive engine, how are we going to place the replacement core in?"

"We're still going to use a machine. It's easier to pull Cores out than lift them into the ER well. But we'll need to roll the ER Core to load it onto the machine. And then we'll let the machine load it into the well." Arel ran to another side of the engine. Luckily, a new ER core was waiting to be rolled onto the loading bay. The pilot got on one side of the core. "Ready?" In her head Arel had been keeping a countdown…they had about 2 minutes left before the ER shield would get eaten through.

Turk rushed over to help Arel with loading the new core into the machine. "That makes it a lot simpler. Ready." Turk glanced at the navigator- He hadn't expected that this kind of work was something that she was experienced in.

With a thud the core entered the loading bay. Arel immediately punched a couple of buttons on the machine console next the loading bay. The core shot up and away before being placed into the number 5 well.

"Close the hatch and tighten the valve until you see a green light come up on the lid, after that you can leave. I need to run a diagnostic check on the shields afterwards."

Turk put some strength into clothing the hatch, and then began tightening the value. "This is a lot harder than opening it." He commented. Despite that, Turk wasn't bothered by the work- Mainly since his life, and the life of the one he was protecting, depended on this being done correctly. "Green light. Are you sure that's all we needed to do?"

"Yep, thanks for doing most of the heavy-lifting. I wasn't really feeling too well enough to do it." Arel flashed a quick smile before turning to the console panel. She breathed a sigh of relief as the screen indicated that the ER shields were running perfectly fine once the new core was in.

"Everything is all clear, Captain Fenbrook." � Arel reported

Turk breathed a sigh of relief as well . "Do you do this often?" He inquired, noting that Arel seemed to be experienced in this field.

"Erm....well I've always wanted to be a United Federation pilot...but due to unforeseen circumstances I found myself working at my dad's old shop back in Morgan. My brother was in the military as a pilot, so I kinda learned stuff from him also, mostly on ER and Nexus technology."

"I've never been very interested in current technology. Nexus technology never interested me at all. Worked as a salvager for most of my working life- You get to learn about all sorts of technology, mainly the kind that isn't used anymore. Well, back to dealing with other forms of impending death." Turk gave Arel a wave, and left to see if Aiko had listened to him and hid herself in the Surveyor.

Arel watched as Turk exited the engine room before moving away from the console to shut the lid closed on the ER container. After ensuring that there was no leakage on the premises , Arel headed back toward the lounge.